OQ  Grace Cornell, Class of 2017 recently got in touch with Q to let us know what she was up to now. 

After not being 100% sure about which direction to go in when taking her GCSE's, Grace has thrived since refining her plans and studying for a Forensic Science Masters at the University of Kent. 

Grace had this to say about her journey: 

"I started at Q in 2010 in Year 7 and stayed all the way through to Upper Sixth. At A Level I took 4 subjects: Biology, Chemistry, Maths and English. Coming out of GCSEs, I wasn't sure what I wanted to do because what 16 year old really does!? So I chose my A Levels to give me a board spectrum and access into a number of different subjects at University. I knew I probably was going to want to be science based as that is what I enjoyed most but I liked to keep my options open, while also studying subjects I was good at and enjoyed.

When it came to choosing what I wanted to do after school, I decided that university was the route I wanted and I decided I wanted to do Forensic Science. After receiving my A Levels, I got into the University of Kent for my MSci (Intergrated Masters) for Forensic Science. I studied for 4 years, 3 years of bachelor studies followed immediately by one year of masters study. My 3rd year dissertation focused on a literature review of "3D printed Presumptive Tests in Resource Poor Countries" and my Master project was on "Monitaring Solid State Phenomena in Switchable Materials".

I graduated in May 2021 with a 1st Class Masters Degree, and I then had choices to make about my future. Do I continue with further academia and study for a PhD or work in industry? I continued to work in the retail job I took on while I was at university to continue to remain financially stable while I made these decisions as well as taking on some volunteering work. Both these roles helped me apply to and achieve the current role I am in by providing evidence of transferable skills on top of my academic achievements.

In August 2023, I started my new job as a Forensic Scientist at the Defence Science and Technology Laboratories (Dstl). My team mostly focuses on fingermarks and DNA. My team works on all sorts of projects brought to us by our customers around improving, validating and investigating techniques, chemical formulations and equipment etc. as well as supporting the police forces across the UK, helping them troubleshoot issues faced by their forensic departments.

I work in a predominantly female team which is not always the case across STEM based teams, and I am very honoured to be working with a number of women who are top experts in their field with expertise I can learn from everyday. Equally, I work alongside some great men as well in this team who bring their own wealth of skills and expertise and have been great to work with.

I am looking forward to working on my first project soon and to start my career as a Forensic Scientist working in research."